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28 March 2024

Crash update: Teens were on way to college

Published
By Reuters

The investigation into a fiery crash between a FedEx tractor- trailer and a bus that killed 10 people in northern California, five of them teenage students en route to a college recruitment event, focused Friday on what caused the truck to veer out of control.

A day after the accident, it remained unclear whether the FedEx driver was somehow distracted or lost consciousness, or whether a mechanical failure occurred when his truck swerved across the median of Interstate 5 and slammed head-on into the motor coach full of students from the Los Angeles area.

The California Highway Patrol also raised the possibility that a separate collision on the truck's side of the highway might have been a factor in Thursday evening's fatal crash.

According to early highway patrol accounts of the accident, the truck side-swiped a car after crossing the center divider but before hitting the bus.

A powerful explosion unleashed by the impact was so loud it was heard throughout the nearby community of Orland, about 145 km north of Sacramento, said Glenn County Sheriff Larry Jones.

Among the dead were the two drivers, as well as five high school students and a college recruiter on their way north to visit Humboldt State University in Arcata, California, as part of a program to help disadvantaged college hopefuls.

More than 30 others were injured in the wreck.

"We don't know whether the Fed-Ex driver had fallen asleep, whether he experienced a mechanical failure with his vehicle or whether there was a separate collision on the southbound side that caused him to lose control," said Lieutenant Scott Fredrick, the lead Highway Patrol investigator.

 

Earlier story

A tractor-trailer slammed into a tour bus carrying high school students in northern California on Thursday, killing at least nine people and injuring 32, the California Highway Patrol said.

Fran Clader, CHP spokeswoman, said the driver of the FedEx truck lost control of the vehicle, crossed over a divider on Interstate 5 and slammed first into a car and then the tour bus.

Emergency personnel help a survivor. (REUTERS)

Clader said the bus was carrying high school students and other passengers to Humboldt State University for a tour. The crash took place near the community of Orland, 95 miles (150 km) north of Sacramento.

She said the injured were taken to hospitals in the area. Shasta Regional Medical Center, which received two patients, said one was in stable condition while the other was undergoing  testing and additional treatment.

The condition of the other 30 injured was not immediately known.

Survivors wait to be transported at the scene of a collision of a tractor-trailer and a tour bus. (REUTERS)

Pictures from the scene showed the bus reduced to a burned-out chassis resting sideways across the highway.

Interstate 5 was closed in both directions and was not expected to reopen until early Friday morning.

Governor Jerry Brown, in a statement issued by his office, offered condolences to relatives and friends of the dead.

California Highway Patrol officer Tracy Hoover surveys the wreckage at the scene of a collision of a tractor-trailer and a tour bus on Interstate 5 near Highway 32 near Orland, California. (REUTERS)

"As we mourn the loss of those who died, we join all Californians in expressing our gratitude for the tireless work of the Red Cross and emergency personnel who responded bravely to this terrible tragedy," Brown said.

Bonnie Kourvelas, a spokeswoman for FedEx Corp, offered condolences and said the company was aware of media reports that one of its trucks was involved in the crash. The condition of the truck's driver, she said, was unknown.

"We are cooperating fully with authorities as they investigate," she said.

Humboldt State University President Rollin Richmond said  students from southern California had been traveling to the college campus for a spring preview event on Friday.

"Our hearts go out to those who have been affected, and we are here to support them, and their families, in any way possible," he said in a written statement.

The university set up an information line for family members.